A recent column about kitchen flooring options reaped these pieces of reader advice.
From Janice Wolf: In the past year, I replaced my wood kitchen floor with a product by Congoleum (DuraCeramic). It looks like tile, feels like tile, and it's not hard under your feet. My guests always comment how nice it is and they can't believe it's not regular tile.
It comes in 16-inch-square tiles and many different color combinations. I had it laid on a diagonal and then grouted between the tiles.
My home has all the different flooring materials, (ceramic tile, hardwood, and also Pergo). I do love this floor and it doesn't show the dirt and cleans easily and is not as expensive as other flooring.
From Joe Waldenberger: I had our kitchen remodeled in September 2007 and wanted a different flooring.
My daughter in the design field suggested PermaGrain. The local contact was kind enough to send me a sample kit of the various flooring products offered.
The contractor's carpenter said it was the easiest floor he had installed. We are very pleased with the floor. We picked Genwood II color grain. There is a 10- year limited warranty and a 10-year limited manufacturer's defect warranty.
From Lea Bellis: We just installed Armstrong Alterna, a vinyl tile measuring 16 inches by 16 inches. I didn't want real ceramic or natural stone tile because I didn't want a hard cold floor, nor a floor that shatters my dishes, should they fall, or alternately that can chip.
Alterna is warmer underfoot and not hard as rock. These tiles are installed like ceramic tiles, individually glued in and then grouted. My husband had no trouble installing them.
After shopping around, I found these to be the most realistic-looking "fake" tiles on the current market.
When we had our kitchen backsplash installed, the tiler also couldn't get over how real the vinyl tile looked. The only thing I don't know is how they will wear.
Painting tips. From Debbie Zimmer at the Paint Quality Institute in Spring House, five tips to quickly beautify your house:
Paint just an accent wall. Instead of painting an entire room, consider painting just one wall in a different color. A so-called accent wall can add visual interest to any space and create an opportunity to introduce another hue into your color scheme.
